Inside the Capitol
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Let’s Make It Easier for Families to Welcome Their Newest Members
Posted by Minnesota Catholic Conference · April 27, 2023 4:07 PM
The Families First Project is an advocacy campaign of the Minnesota Catholic Conference to remove economic roadblocks that Minnesotans confront along their journey of forming and raising a family. This week’s column focuses on one Families First policy proposal that would make life a bit easier for new parents by reducing the tax burden they encounter when purchasing necessities for their newborn baby: a sales tax exemption on baby products.
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Minnesota’s bishops meet with lawmakers to advocate for policies that put families first
Posted by Minnesota Catholic Conference · March 30, 2023 4:22 PM
It is no question that the family plays an irreplaceable role as the first economic unit, the first classroom, and the first community that each of us experiences. Parents perform the irreplaceable work of nurturing the next generation of thinkers, artisans, and caregivers. So, as the Minnesota legislature is now crafting the next biennial state budget and deciding what to do with a 17-billion-dollar surplus, Minnesota’s bishops are urging our lawmakers to place families first in their considerations.
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Families First Project aims to provide a solid foundation for supporting a family
Posted by Minnesota Catholic Conference · March 17, 2023 11:25 AM
The Families First Project is an advocacy campaign of the Minnesota Catholic Conference to remove economic roadblocks that Minnesotans confront along their journey of forming and raising a family. This week’s column focuses on one Families First policy proposal that helps young people identify and secure stable long-term employment in the trades.
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Families First Project moves forward as a new Minnesota Child Tax Credit gains momentum
Posted by Minnesota Catholic Conference · March 10, 2023 10:47 AM
“Public authorities have the duty to sustain the family . . . the family does not exist for society or the State, but society and the State exist for the family.” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 214)
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Advocating for Children – Born and Unborn
Posted by Minnesota Catholic Conference · March 03, 2023 2:15 PM
A core principle of Catholic Social Teaching is to exercise, in our public policy making and in our various labors, a preferential option for the poor and vulnerable. One way of thinking about that principle is that the poor and vulnerable should have the first claim on our resources and attention as we consider various policy questions. Children—especially unborn children—are among the vulnerable populations in our society.
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Advocating for policies that give families the flexibility they need to care for their loved ones
Posted by Minnesota Catholic Conference · February 01, 2023 3:43 PM
The legislature continues to press ahead at a rapid pace, and the Minnesota Catholic Conference is working hard to ensure the Catholic voice is represented on a variety of key issues, always in service to the common good.
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Legislature is back in session; your help needed
Posted by Minnesota Catholic Conference · January 13, 2023 12:01 PM
The Capitol is once again buzzing with activity and the staff and bishops of the Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC) are hard at work advocating for legislation that promotes human dignity and opposing legislation that devalues the human person. The first week of session has been filled with opportunities for all people of goodwill to together enact policies that promote a consistent ethic of life and that put families first.
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Opportunities for a positive vision of the good
Posted by Katherine Szepieniec · December 02, 2022 12:39 PM
The 2023 legislative session will be filled with challenges and opportunities. Governor Walz and DFL legislative majority leaders promised to use their historic “trifecta” to, at the outset, make our state’s abortion regime even more permissive and legalize recreational marijuana. These policy challenges present a tremendous opportunity for Minnesota Catholics to, as Pope Francis has said, “meddle in politics” by proposing a positive vision: the ability to choose what we ought, not the license to choose what we want.
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What do we do after the election?
Posted by Minnesota Catholic Conference · November 09, 2022 3:16 PM
Now that the election is over, many of you are asking, “Now what?”
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops makes it clear that “responsible citizenship is a virtue and participation in political life is a moral obligation.” (USCCB, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,13)